- Joined
- Dec 13, 2013
- Messages
- 2,394
Preface:
With the holiday weekend right around the corner, I finally had a few moments to sit down and write a long overdue review thread! While I already had several subjects lined up for in depth reviews, the post man changed all of that today!
Now up until this point, I have been through about a dozen <4” Fiddleback profiles, in hopes of identifying an ideal EDC that surpasses the hinderer / benchmade / spyderco that I typically pocket on a daily basis. While, I have encountered some pretty amazing Fiddlebacks during my search, all of them have inevitably wound up on the flea market due to one reason or another. Well, I am proud to say that today’s delivery has finally `ended my seemingly hopeless search; enter the Monarch and the Esquire.
Introduction:
The Monarch and Esquire represent are both members of a new design family released by Fiddleback Forge during Q3/Q4 of this year. The Esquire (in Andy’s words) “is a small knife; smaller than a Hiking Buddy by a good bit. The blade is 2.75" long and the handle is 3.75" long with an overall length of 6.5". The profile provides a 1:1.36 blade to handle ratio and features a unique sweeping grip profile, coupled with an angular pommel design and utilitarian karda-esque (IMO) blade style. The Monarch, represents an up-scaled evolution of the Esquire, simply described as the “Esquire’s bigger brother”. Of note, while the Monarch and esquire share a common design profile, the Monarch is truly a unique pattern in that both the blade to handle ratio is near equal, and the blade profile itself is more akin to that of the bushfinger… it’s a pretty AMAZING design! Seeing that there isn’t really a lot of information about the Monarch out there, I found it fitting to try and share some honest, objective observations about both it, and its little brother, the Esquire.
Specifications:
Model: Monarch
FF Lot Info: 2014 1121 09
OAL: 7.75”
Blade Length: 3.75”
Handle Length: 4”
Steel & Thickness: 5/32” spalted 01 steel
Tang Type: Tapered SFT (i.e. “skeletonized full tang”
Grind: Convex
Handle Material: African Blackwood over natural canvas micarta, with a blue G10 pinstripe
Weight (oz.): 4.85
Balance Point: At first set of pins
Model: Esquire
FF Lot Info: 2014 1121 04
OAL: 6.5”
Blade Length: 2.75”
Handle Length: 3.75”
Steel & Thickness: 5/32” spalted 01 steel
Tang Type: Tapered SFT (i.e. “skeletonized full tang”
Grind: Convex
Handle Material: Padouk over natural canvas micarta, with a white G10 pinstripe
Weight (oz.): 2.75
Balance Point: Slightly after first set of pins
In Hand:
My hand is roughly 4” across the palm, and I generally wear a “Large” in most mountaineering / cold weather gloves.
Monarch: The Monarch just fits my hand…period. It’s like it was meant to be; length and width are perfect, the 5/32” TT clad in blackwood features a phenomenal distal taper, and truly exemplifies how far Andy’s knife making skills have really come.
Esquire: For being such a small knife, the Esquire fits just as well as the Monarch, albeit in a slimmer, more tactile package. The 5/32” TT clad in padouk also features a great distal taper, and is comfortable in a myriad of utilitarian grips.
Comparisons:
I decided to take a few quick comparative shots of the Monarch, Esquire, and a commonly referenced profile, the Bushcrafter. The below pics are pretty interesting in that despite the 1” difference between the BC and Monarch, the Monarch looks (and feels) just as stout!
Observations:
Both of these knives are amazing and absolutely warrant further testing to reach a definitive conclusion.... however based on initial impressions alone, these two are both game changing profiles for Fiddleback Forge! For me, the Monarch has the potential to replace several profiles in my collection in one fell swoop and is still reasonably sized enough to EDC, if you are a fan of EDC'ing stout knives (as I am). The Esquire is just cool; while being significantly smaller than the Monarch, it still fits the hand nicely without compromising grip or ergonomics. In 5/32" the Esquire is very confidence inspiring, while still feeling small enough to tackle the most tactile / detail oriented tasks; I really like it. I plan on keeping this thread open, and posting future updates once I get some EDC and field time with both of these knives. If anyone has any questions or would like to see any specific pics, just let me know in a reply and I'll be happy to oblige.
Cheers & thanks for looking :thumbup:
With the holiday weekend right around the corner, I finally had a few moments to sit down and write a long overdue review thread! While I already had several subjects lined up for in depth reviews, the post man changed all of that today!
Now up until this point, I have been through about a dozen <4” Fiddleback profiles, in hopes of identifying an ideal EDC that surpasses the hinderer / benchmade / spyderco that I typically pocket on a daily basis. While, I have encountered some pretty amazing Fiddlebacks during my search, all of them have inevitably wound up on the flea market due to one reason or another. Well, I am proud to say that today’s delivery has finally `ended my seemingly hopeless search; enter the Monarch and the Esquire.
Introduction:
The Monarch and Esquire represent are both members of a new design family released by Fiddleback Forge during Q3/Q4 of this year. The Esquire (in Andy’s words) “is a small knife; smaller than a Hiking Buddy by a good bit. The blade is 2.75" long and the handle is 3.75" long with an overall length of 6.5". The profile provides a 1:1.36 blade to handle ratio and features a unique sweeping grip profile, coupled with an angular pommel design and utilitarian karda-esque (IMO) blade style. The Monarch, represents an up-scaled evolution of the Esquire, simply described as the “Esquire’s bigger brother”. Of note, while the Monarch and esquire share a common design profile, the Monarch is truly a unique pattern in that both the blade to handle ratio is near equal, and the blade profile itself is more akin to that of the bushfinger… it’s a pretty AMAZING design! Seeing that there isn’t really a lot of information about the Monarch out there, I found it fitting to try and share some honest, objective observations about both it, and its little brother, the Esquire.
Specifications:
Model: Monarch
FF Lot Info: 2014 1121 09
OAL: 7.75”
Blade Length: 3.75”
Handle Length: 4”
Steel & Thickness: 5/32” spalted 01 steel
Tang Type: Tapered SFT (i.e. “skeletonized full tang”
Grind: Convex
Handle Material: African Blackwood over natural canvas micarta, with a blue G10 pinstripe
Weight (oz.): 4.85
Balance Point: At first set of pins
Model: Esquire
FF Lot Info: 2014 1121 04
OAL: 6.5”
Blade Length: 2.75”
Handle Length: 3.75”
Steel & Thickness: 5/32” spalted 01 steel
Tang Type: Tapered SFT (i.e. “skeletonized full tang”
Grind: Convex
Handle Material: Padouk over natural canvas micarta, with a white G10 pinstripe
Weight (oz.): 2.75
Balance Point: Slightly after first set of pins
In Hand:
My hand is roughly 4” across the palm, and I generally wear a “Large” in most mountaineering / cold weather gloves.
Monarch: The Monarch just fits my hand…period. It’s like it was meant to be; length and width are perfect, the 5/32” TT clad in blackwood features a phenomenal distal taper, and truly exemplifies how far Andy’s knife making skills have really come.
Esquire: For being such a small knife, the Esquire fits just as well as the Monarch, albeit in a slimmer, more tactile package. The 5/32” TT clad in padouk also features a great distal taper, and is comfortable in a myriad of utilitarian grips.
Comparisons:
I decided to take a few quick comparative shots of the Monarch, Esquire, and a commonly referenced profile, the Bushcrafter. The below pics are pretty interesting in that despite the 1” difference between the BC and Monarch, the Monarch looks (and feels) just as stout!
Observations:
Both of these knives are amazing and absolutely warrant further testing to reach a definitive conclusion.... however based on initial impressions alone, these two are both game changing profiles for Fiddleback Forge! For me, the Monarch has the potential to replace several profiles in my collection in one fell swoop and is still reasonably sized enough to EDC, if you are a fan of EDC'ing stout knives (as I am). The Esquire is just cool; while being significantly smaller than the Monarch, it still fits the hand nicely without compromising grip or ergonomics. In 5/32" the Esquire is very confidence inspiring, while still feeling small enough to tackle the most tactile / detail oriented tasks; I really like it. I plan on keeping this thread open, and posting future updates once I get some EDC and field time with both of these knives. If anyone has any questions or would like to see any specific pics, just let me know in a reply and I'll be happy to oblige.
Cheers & thanks for looking :thumbup:
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